And these were just my (distant) relatives! A total of 500,000+ people attended RootsTech Connect in February 2021.
Wow! This event was a game-changer.
Even if you’re not the family historian, please keep reading. Because, in case you feel you’ve missed out, you haven’t!
Even the cat wore a mask!
In April I wrote a blog post called Our Ancestors and the 1918 Spanish Flu, not realizing there would be more. But…of course, there’s more! This is a marathon, not a sprint, and COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon.
Note: The 1918-1919 flu pandemic was often referred to as the “Spanish Flu” because of mistaken beliefs about its origin. I use that term, too, because accuracy and political correctness are not always helpful when searching the internet. (In fact, it may have started in Kansas: How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America.)
Me (left) with genealogy rock star Cyndi Ingle.
Are you ready to explore your family history?
Here are some genealogy resources to help you get started!
This list is by no means exhaustive! It’s mostly a list of websites and tools I use myself. If you want exhaustive, check out Cyndi’s List below. I have used Cyndi’s List since its inception in 1996, and got to meet Cyndi Ingle in person when she came to visit the New Mexico Genealogical Society a few years ago.
Please let me know if you find something here that helps you!
Short answer: Probably!
Long answer: Most of us are distantly related to rulers such as Charlemagne, Genghis Kahn, and other historical figures with an abundance of descendants. But can we prove it? And is it important?
UPDATE: Mystery solved! (scroll down)Who is this saucy young woman? Don’t know? Don’t care?
She looks like fun, though, doesn’t she?
What if you found this photo in a bin at Goodwill? For sale on eBay?
Would you buy it? Would you feel vaguely sad that somebody got rid of it, and move on?
What if you found her in your parents’ stuff and didn’t know who she was?
Would you keep, or toss? Would you try to find the story behind the photo?
Can’t find your ancestor? Getting frustrated?
We all hit a brick wall in our genealogy research now and then.
Or, as we call them here in New Mexico, adobe walls, lol!
My own 4-generation pedigree chart, and my paternal grandparents, Archie Raymond Thornton Sr. & Hazel Islery Clay, on their wedding day in 1925. Aren’t they a handsome couple?
If you think pedigrees are just for royalty, dogs, and horses, think again! Genealogy makes history personal for everyone. And a family tree makes a great gift for a loved one…or for yourself!
7 Generation Pedigree Chart with sample projects indicated.
Your family tree is never really finished! It is forever growing on both ends. New descendants of your ancestors are continually being born (even if not to you, personally), and no matter how many branches and leaves you’ve added in the past, there are always more for you to discover.
Family website
Shhh! Don’t tell my family, but I’ve finally figured out what I’m giving them all for Christmas.
“What?” you ask…with bated breath…
Why, The Gift of an Organized Family Tree, of course!
“But wait…you’re an organizer, and a genealogist. Haven’t you already shared your family history with your family?”
Well…yes and no…
What comes to mind when you hear the word “genealogy”? Does it sound boring and time-consuming? Or, does it sound fascinating in the same way that solving a mystery or reading a historical novel can be?
Pedigree charts might sound fancy, but they’re really just family trees. If you think pedigrees are just for royalty, dogs, and horses, think again!
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